Archive of Dance Forum Articles From August, 1998

This is the archive of DANCE FORUM
articles which appeared during August, 1998

This is the place to review and savor all of those interesting
articles
written by our erudite readers.

If you came into this page directly from a bookmark or a link,
please note that our website address has changed to:www.jitterbuzz.com
Perhaps you might like to look at our Home
Page --- we have loads of Lindy related features!

We would also like to acknowledge
Gay and Dave
Shepardson who actually do the mechanics of the website. Check
out dancestore.com

When I was assigned in Wash D.C., I was a regular at Glen
Echo. Since being reassigned to Colorado Springs last Fall,
I've been looking for places that do swing/Lindy Hop. Swing is
centered mostly in Denver, Boulder and Ft. Collins, but recently
the Colorado Music Hall in Colorado Springs started sponsoring
some swing sessions. Unfortunately, the level of instruction out
here is not very good, especially for Lindy Hop. I sent a
message to Mark Shepanek / Ellen Engle because I'd seen a flyer
about the Shout n Feel It dance troupe from Sweden. I was
looking for a contact point to see what their availability would
be to come out this way.

The manager of Colorado Music Hall is interested, but I need
to get some details on what it would take to bring out a
national or world class dance troupe. I think it would be a
real boost in this area, and show the kids some high level skill.
There is a Lindy Hop dance troupe in Denver called the Flying
Aces that formed about four months ago. They've been fast
learners but still beginners. I think if we brought a national
level troupe out here, we'd get participation form Denver,
Boulder and Ft. Collins I'd be interested in any information or
suggestions you could provide.
Thanks.
Jay Airis

[Editor's Note: It is great to have the Air Force
interested in Lindy Hop! It brings back memories of the Glen
Miller AAF Band. We invite our readers to bombard Lt. Col Airis
with helpful suggestions! ]

Another week, another weird swing review. This time, it's
Patrick Foster and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. He spends the majority
of the review lamenting the fact that BBVD doesn't play orthodox
swing and mocking those attending the concert for being so
ignorant of their own scene as not to realize it. Two comments:
first, "DUH!" We KNOW that BBVD doesn't play orthodox
swing. Just because we dance to something doesn't mean it's
traditional big band swing. That's why we here in DC have coined
the term "gansta swing" to refer to them. I love the J
Street Jumpers, and they're a jump blues group, not a traditional
big band. I love Rockin' Bones, and they play really danceable
rockabilly. So his point would be what--people can only like one
type of music? People necessarily believe that all the music
they like is the same genre? If I like opera, I am going to
think that everything I listen to, from La Traviata to Louis
Prima to Lenny Kravitz is opera? Nice tone of condescension
there, Mr. Foster.

Secondly, Foster is just SOOOO distressed that BBVD doesn't
play orthodox swing. Of course, that didn't seem to influence
Richard Harrington when he reviewed Indigo Swing/Brian Setzer 1
1/2 weeks ago. The fact that Indigo Swing REALLY swings and
plays original swing didn't mitigate his totally uninformed pan
of their set, and the fact that NO ONE thinks that Brian Setzer
plays orthodox swing didn't tone down his totally unwarranted
worship of that band.

So a small request to the Post: if you're going to review
swing concerts at all, please at least send a critic who knows
SOMETHING about swing, who realizes that this movement has been
going on a LOT longer than the 10 minutes since the GAP
"Khakis Swing" ad first aired, and who understands that
Lindy Hoppers largely aren't such musical snobs that we'll only
dance to or enjoy traditional big band swing.

Oh, one final kvetch: Foster also mockingly points out that
no one had room to break into Lindy so they just resorted to the
typical club bopping up and down. It sounded an awful lot like
he was mocking the Daddy-o's for not knowing how to dance despite
the fact that this is their chosen scene. As you know from
reading the reviews, 8 of us started a jam circle before the
opening band and kept it going right until the last note of the
last song in BBVD's set. Oddly enough, everyone in that club who
was even slightly interested in swing dancing seemed to find us
with no trouble at all (probably largely because Duke had at
least one of us followers in the air during just about every
song, which made us easy to spot!), but Foster was apparently
unable to locate us. Makes you wonder if he was even
there...

Hi De Ho! Most of you probably already know about Mood
Indigo, a great little vintage store in DC, but because of the
wonderful time I had there, I feel like they earned a free
plug.

Sunday I went there with my older sister (a non-dancer, alas)
on a mission to find a great 1940's dress. Actually, we first
checked out Meep's, but it unfortunatley had mostly 60s and 70s
attire. It did, however, have two pairs of really great women's
glasses (very 50s-ish) and a pair of sunglasses very similar to
the ones that are sold at dancestore.com. The glasses were $28
each, and I forget how much the sunglasses were.

A bit discouraged from our efforts at Meep's, my cohort and I
decided we needed refueling. Luckily, we were very near Ben's
Chili Bowl, a great little diner right across from Mood
Indigo. As my sister says, "this place isn't just a place,
it's an establishment!" Apparently, it's where Bill Cosby
proposed to his wife, and they have pictures of all sorts of
famous patrons on their walls. I *highly* reccommend the shakes
there...they're so thick and so tasty, you think you're eating
heaven! [Editor's Note: Ben's Chili Bowl is also a legend in
the Civil Rights movement, as well as being the eatery of choice
for most of the famous big band and jazz musicians. Until the
1960s, Washington was rigidly segregated, but Ben's was a place
where all sorts of people mixed at ease even in those terrible
times.]

Anyway, back to the issue at hand...clothes! Mood Indigo is
conveniently located right across from Ben's in an old dry
cleaner's--they have a whole automated rack aboslutley *filled*
with clothes. AND...they let you operate it! That rack
requires some considerable digging, but there *is* a small rack
marked as exclusively 1940's stuff, and boy was I happy to see
that! Not everything was to my taste (or more importantly,
size), but it made it easy. I found one dress, and the only
other one I remember was a beatiful Jackie-O type dress that's
Gretta-sized. Also, I saw a pretty neat pair of women's saddle
shoes, size 8 1/2, and three pairs of men's two-tones in very
good condition, with promising soles. There were other novelties
there, from ladies handbags to several vintage suitcases, a
hand-held accordion type camera, and what seemed to be an old
wooden radio.

The lady there was very nice to boot! We had a nice
conversation about the vintage stores in the area, and she even
mentioned that Auntie Deb comes into her store from time to
time. So anyway, that's the update on what's at Mood Indigo
right now.

I have a large assortment of swing era clothing and
accessories. they are on my web site. (I see you
have already found my store front at Baker's Row in Frederick, MD
on your Travel Guide )
Cordially,
Sue Shatto

Dear Frank:
Thought I'd pass on the announcement for the Swing Jam in the UK.
I went last year, and I enjoyed. What I found amusing is that
while here the trend is for events which used to be solely WCS to
add Lindy, in the UK, WCS is still small and on the upswing
(sorry...), so Swing Jam is adding a WCS track to what used to be
an all-Lindy event.

Here Goes

Time is running out - don't miss out!!!

If you haven't already booked for what many people think is
the UK's best Lindy Hop weekend (ask Frankie, Rob et al!), then
you had better get a move on!

Seriously though, folks, the site is not infinitely expandable
and this year's event looks like being more popular than ever -
and don't forget that the Swing Jam has NEVER been cancelled and
this is its sixth CONSECUTIVE year!!

For the first time in any UK event, we are offering a complete
stream of West Coast Swing to compliment the ever-popular Lindy
Hop, so this could be YOUR chance to learn a dance to do when the
music is slower and groovier - don't just stand there saying
"It's too slow, I can't Lindy to that"! And if you
want to improve your Lindy with the world's best teachers and
still try a bit of West Coast to see what all the fuss is about,
there will be a West Coast 'taster' workshop on Saturday
morning.

The setting for all this is Brunel University's lovely
Runnymede campus set in the beautiful Berkshire countryside.
It's close to Heathrow and a main-line train station for the
convenience of all you out-of-towners. All activities are
on-site including accommodation and great food for residents.
Each resident has their own room (some twins are available but
they are nearly all taken by those couples who want to be
'together'). Each room has a wash-basin while showers and baths
are all nearby in the halls.

If you can't manage the full weekend, we have great evening
dances going on each night until 2.00am! Friday features Blue
Harlem with Aisha Khan, Saturday is Vile Bodies with Stacey Kent,
plus the Finals of the UK Lindy Hop Championships, and Sunday
night is DJ and Cabaret night.

Advance Ticket prices are œ10 for Friday or Saturday, œ8 for
Sunday. All advance price tickets must be booked by Friday 21
August. On-the-door prices are œ12 for Friday or Saturday, œ10
for Sunday. For full details why not check out our web site
http://www.live2jive.ndirect.co.uk - you can even book
on-line.

Our new Lindy course in High Wycombe is due to start on
Tuesday 9 September and West Coast Swing at Watford will take a
break on Thursday 27 August and 3 September only, beginning again
on Thursday 10th September.

'Swing Fever' our West Coast Swing club which takes place on
the first and third Friday of each month will only miss Friday 4
September. Our fortnightly Lindy Hop Club a.k.a. the Saturday
Swing Dance Club which meets on the second and fourth Saturday of
each month will only miss Saturday 22 August; We're there again
on Saturday September 12th. For more info, see our website.

There is plenty going on from Live2Jive so don't miss out on
ANYTHING; if you miss the Swing Jam then you will be really
sorry! Everyone else will be on a dancing high for weeks.

Hey F & C
Saw a beautiful sight today. The Tower records in Rockville has
a new "listening booth" dedicated entirely to swing.
There were two young girls, about 8 and 10 I'd guess, in front of
it. They looked like sisters, but they wre fighting over the one
pair of headphones. The smaller one won, pushed the Cab
Caolloway selection, and started tapping her foot and moving her
hips like a regular Norma Miller.

Let the future begin. Now if we could only get the private
sector to open up some spaces for us. It strikes me that we don't
necessarily need a new, grand ballroom, but a bunch of places
like America to open their doors all over the city. they wouldn't
even need bands right away - just a good juke box, like the 50s.
God, what is stopping them? It's like printing money at this
point.
---Mark Judge

Hi Frank,
I was watching my video tape of the day's TV as I did situps last
night ( (8-12-98), and guess what! The ITN ((British))
Independent Television News) broadcast last night a segment on
Swing dancing at Glen Echo. The ITN guys do the best
international TV news of any I've seen, and their segment on GE
reflects this. I saw a lot of familiar faces, and they managed to
catch the old Spanish Ballroom looking quite grand. There is a R
ealVideo version of the piece. You will also need the Player.

Unfortunately the video quality is pretty poor, and you can't
recognize many of the faces of the dancers. My video tape has
better quality, but the Howard University TV station is far
enough away that there is a good deal of static on the tape.
Pretty neat piece though.
Cheers,
---Mike

I got the pictures back from my wedding, and they're awesome.
I have a probably a hundred photos of people lindying. And the
photographer took pictures of the jam in black and white, so they
look extra cool. I can't wait to show everyone -- once the dust
settles at my house (I've basically been travelling for 5 weeks
-- I spent last week in Alaska), I'll have to have everyone
over.

Swing has hit Anchorage. One of the bigger bars has a swing
lounge. I didn't have a chance to go, because I was working too
hard. I did, however, manage to find one of the best vintage
stores I've ever been to -- The Rage. There were so many forties
dresses in great condition to choose from. I managed to keep my
purchases down to two. Now if I could only find a snood!
---Randi

Frank & Carole:
I don't think you know me specifically, but I am in the Tom &
Debra gang.

Anyway, I need a favor. Next time you send out an email
update or post to your site, can you add something for me to
spread the word. I am looking for a large church fellowship hall
that will fit at least 500 dancers and one that has wood floors.
This is a great chance for a church to make some easy cash. It
would be great if you could put out a little note asking people
to write me if they have any ideas.

Hi Frank,
I will be teaching at a new and wonderful dance studio here in
Baltimore named Experimental Movement Concepts. 3618 Falls Rd.
This place is huge!! Very convienient : Take I-95 to I-395 to
Pratt to 83 north to Falls Road. Studio is on the left. I'll be
there each Wed. in October at 7PM teaching a beginning jitterbug
and a begining Lindy class. I am also available for privates in
the now popular Collins Style or any thing else. This building
also has a huge Air Conditioned Ballroom about 2/3 the size of
Glen Echo and I am DREAMING of holding a special event there some
day. Any way I would really love it if you could include my
schedule in your site. I am also thinking of holding a
practice/dance session there on Wednesday nights if all goes
well.

[Editor's Note: This is some of the best news that I have
heard in a long time. Not only is Charlie a hell of a nice guy,
but he also has the smoothest, most fluid style that I have ever
seen. If it were possible to get only 5% of Charlie's style,
most of us would improve our dancing a hundredfold. We
strongly advise you to see Charlie!]

All right everybody.....it's time to dust off those running
shoes or roller-blades and limber up for the: Starlight
Children's Foundation/Outback Steakhouse 5K Run (walk)/10K
In-Line Race and Run

Saturday, September 12, 1998

7:00-7:45 AM Registration

8:00 AM First Race

Alexandria, Virginia at Cameron Run Regional Park

($20/adult, $15/kids under 15, $25 after 9/5)

All proceeds of this event go to the Starlight Children's
Foundation whose goal it is to deliver wishes to seriously ill
children ages 4 though 18 years.

Enter your company as a team or do it with friends!

What do I have to do?

Walk, Run, or Skate on a beautiful September day, eat a free
lunch from Outback Steakhouse, enjoy great music form the Z104
Van, win prizes, get a free T-shirt, have a great time, and most
of all.......help a worthy cause and some great kids!!!!!

Get more information on the Starlight Foundation and the race
by checking out the DC
Starlight Website

Come on every one!!! This is a great organization and a great
event. Sign up your whole family....pass this mail on to
friends....get involved!!!!

If you have any questions or want a brochure mailed to you
contact Jennifer at ( 301-907-3202 x 109 or jgehring@alarm.org)

I recently returned from a two-week cruise from St. Petersburg
to Moscow by way of the Neva and Volga rivers. The trip was
fantastic except in one respect, there were no male Lindy Hoppers
aboard. If anyone wants to know more about the fabulous palaces,
museums, cathedrals, birch forests, etc. that I saw on my visit,
please feel free to ask anytime. As with most cruises, the
majority of evenings were spent motoring along so that we would
reach the next port by morning. The only cities we stayed in
long enough to explore the nightlife were St. Petersburg and
Moscow. St. Petersburg did not seem to have any clubs that even
played swing music but in Moscow, there was one that played swing
in addition to Dixieland jazz and something else that escapes me
at the moment.

The club is the Nostalgie Art Club at 12a Chistoprudny Bulvar,
phone 095 916 9978. By the time we reached Moscow, I was
starting to get sick so I didn't have the chance to check it out
personally even though it looked somewhat promising. On board
ship, the only Lindyable music that the band played was a few
Elvis Presley tunes so I threw myself on the mercy of a few
gentlemen who knew some rudimentary East Coast Swing. At one
point, I was reduced to LEADING, and spent a whole song just
trying to get the basic step down. I now have a new respect for
all our wonderful leads in the DC area who make it look and feel
so effortless.

I did find that you can Charleston to almost anything if
desperate enough, including techno and Russian disco hits. None
of the Russian staff had ever heard of Lindy Hop (big surprise)
so I stayed up until 3 AM one morning describing Lindy Hop (which
is hard to do without a partner) to the aerobics
instructor and the manager of the on-board souvenir stand and
gave them some basic instruction in Charleston. I even got the
lead singer of the band into tandem Charleston! I plan to send
them a few swing CDs and tapes (including Glenn Miller's
"Song of the Volga Boatmen") as well as videotapes so
they can see what Lindy Hop is really supposed to look like.

As with any cruise, we were given adequate opportunities to
make fools of themselves for the general amusement of the staff
and other passengers. So in addition to being a woodland fairy
in the enactment of a Russian fairy tale (I actually have a photo
of this) and a mermaid in the King Neptune festival, I also
volunteered to do a solo dance routine for the Talent Show. I
chose Louis Armstrong's "Flat Foot Floogee" from the
ship's surprisingly large selection of swing music (they played
swing music in the afternoons over the PA system between Voice of
America broadcasts). 48 very short hours later, I performed a 3
minute Charleston routine (with a little St. Louis shag and shim
sham steps to fill in the empty spots) to over 150 people. I'll
admit to feeling a little pressure but the nice thing about a
solo is no one can tell when you mess up. At the end of it, I
got a HUGE round of applause and people came up to me for days
afterwards to say how much they enjoyed it. I guess they don't
get too many dance routines in the talent show but given the
average age of the passengers on a cruise, I think I know why.
On a more serious note, touring Russia during a period of
economic crisis is great for the tourist but at the expense of
the Russian people. While we (the tourists) were all spending
like drunken sailors on shore leave, many of the staff had not
been paid in months and were living off the tips they received.
The wife of one crew member had died
earlier in the cruise season and he could not take any time off
without losing his job with which he supports his family. During
the off-season, one of the staff makes $40 a MONTH teaching
English in her home province. Many professional folk dance and
music ensembles performed for us just for tips.

It's all too easy to take for granted the freedom and high
standard of living we enjoy in America. Let's all hope that
Russia's current economic crisis ends soon and that it does not
signal an end to democracy in that country.

Wow! What an excellent site! I've been surfing swing dance
sites for a while and hadn't come across yours before - Great
job! You have a very comprehensive list of links.

Friends of mine run the swing dances for the Hudson Valley
Country Dances organization in Upstate New York (Poughkeepsie
area.) Please add a reference to their web site -
http://www.bestweb.net/~tamara/chdance.html - on your links page
under the Upstate New York section.

Also, I run a big band called The Big Band Sound that plays
for swing dances in the area. Please add a reference to our web
site - http://www.thebigbandsound.com - to your links page under
the Big Band section. In addition to information about our band,
we also have a Music and Book Store where people can purchase big
band CDs and books.
Thank you!
---Dave Coles

Hi Frank and Carole!
Sorry I haven't seen you recently, but the med school thing,
not to mention the FlyCats, are keeping me busy. Besides, Glen
Echo is way too crowded and way too hot :-(. I just wanted to
give you the latest on Swing Baltimore's website address. We
have a spiffy new site, thanks to the hard work of Mark Ormbsby
and the courtesy of the Baltimore Sun. The new URL is:

It would be great if you could update your link to us, so that
all of the online swingers will again have access to the Swing
Baltimore Calendar.

I also wanted let you know that the FlyCats will be performing
at the Kennedy Center on Sun., Sept. 13 at 3 and 4:15 pm, as part
of the annual Open House. In addition to performing a couple of
our pieces, this will be a participatory event where the audience
will be encouraged to join us in open dancing after the
performance. In other words, this is everybody's opportunity to
dance with the FlyCats *onstage at the Kennedy Center*. Needless
to say, it should be a blast. Hope to see you there.
---Todd

Hi all of you swingin' gals out there! I'm Christina
Santarlas, pretty new on the swing scene. Some of you saw me
recently at America, the night Fox 5 came to tape. I had my
hair all done up and many of you asked me "how did you do
that?" Well, I'd be glad to show you. I've been doing
1940's hair and makeup for three and half years, and theatrical
makeup for more than eight years, and I'd be happy to share some
tricks of the trade. I would like to propose Hair and Makeup
classes to kick of the fall and get us all looking great! I will
need some suggestions from you all to format this to best fit
your needs. I'll explain the plan and give you some questions
to think about. Please do e-mail me with your ideas and we'll
get this show on the road!

Classes:

Basic Hair: rolls, twists, and basic styling (and how to use
those crazy 'ratz'!)

Each class would happen once in a month (one class each week),
location undecided, price $12.00 each class, or $40.00 for all
four classes (you'd save eight bucks). I think pre-registration
would help the first time out. I would be happy to put supply
kits together and you could just purchase everything from me to
keep from running all around town to find things. The hair
class really doesn't need a kit, but a makeup kit would probably
be helpful, since 40's makeup is different from our makeup
today.